Full Circle
by HatterLifeStyle
Summary: "Jellal…" The quiet whisper reverberated on the walls of the cell and visibly startled him. His face snapped up to look her straight in the eye. "Erza…"
1. Thus We Pray

Erza Scarlet walked briskly through the corridors of the Magic Council's prison amidst wolf whistles and catcalls from the assorted inmates. She was sure she'd be whipping out her swords any minute now just to establish some kind of order: between the noisy jeers coming from the prisoners and the booming footsteps that the guards that were escorting her were making as they walked along side her, the prison resembled pure chaos. Instead she stared straight ahead, not sparing a glance at the prisoners or the guards and making sure she appeared just as cool as ever.

"Left here." said the guard on her right. He was a man who seemed to be nearing fifty, tall and with a body that had probably once been fit but was now past its prime. She didn't bother answering and just gave a curt nod, however out of the corner of her eye she could see that the guard was still looking at her expectantly.

"I see."

"He's isolated from the rest of the prisoners. His cells not too comfortable though." A smirk appeared on the man's face. "I doubt you'll be able to do much." She finally turned towards him and stared him down. Did this man honestly just say that? Did he not know exactly who she was? It was either that or he was stupid.

"I don't like what you're implying." She answered coolly. The man laughed in her face.

"Look girlie, I've been a guard in this prison long enough to know what happens when one of these bastards gets a visit from a woman." His partner, a tall gangly man who seemed barely a couple of years older than her laughed. "Can't say the poor bastards in this part of the prison get a lot of visits though."

Erza clenched her fist. Injuring one of the prison guards would not be good. The situation was already fragile enough as it was and besides, if she kept clenching her fist like that her gauntlet was sure to dent. She tried taking calming breaths unnoticed and managed to keep up her pace. She suddenly noticed that the corridors had quieted down and that there were no longer any cells that she could make out. It sent her senses on high alert.

"This is it." the older guard said stopping abruptly in front of a large arc in the wall made entirely out of black stone. The frame was ornately decorated with runes and what had at first appeared to be precious stones but upon closer inspection were revealed to be lacrima. She arched an eyebrow and silently demanded an explanation from the older guard who was obviously the one in charge.

"It's been programmed to let you in. You just have to walk through the arc." She looked at the arc for a moment, not letting the hesitation she felt show and then walked towards it.

Strangely enough the thought of reuniting with her childhood friend, telling him the news she brought with her, it terrified her, much more than confronting him in the Tower of Heaven had ever affected her. Maybe the adrenaline from her previous fight with Ikaruga had served to numb her anxiety over that encounter. If she stopped to analyze things clearly though she knew that it was simply the fact that back then she had been able to mask it all behind tough words and a strong hand. Now what did she have? She had removed all barriers between them during the Nirvana incident and now she found that she was yearning for some form of protection.

Either way, as she placed her palm on the smooth surface of the stone the panic seemed to reach a whole new level. It didn't stop her, however, from slowly applying pressure against the stone and passing the magical barrier. She heard the guards make another stupid joke but didn't bother commenting; she just applied even more pressure so that their stupid laughter was quickly drowned out and she had finally completely breached the barrier.

The room she had gone into was much darker than the corridor she had just come from and the only source of light were the few and very narrow windows in the walls. The room was void of all furniture and the walls, the ceiling, the floor; all of it was made from the same black stone as the entrance. The moonlight that filtered in through the windows illuminated the stone eerily with a bluish glow.

It was on the far side of the room, sitting on the floor, back propped against the wall and face draped in shadow that Erza caught her first glimpse of Jellal since she had seen him walk away from her after helping in the destruction of Nirvana. His head was tilted so that between the shadows and the wisps of blue hair she couldn't make out his features and he obviously hadn't noticed her; but it was him, no doubt about it and she was glad for the chance to see him again; so much so that her anxiety ebbed down into a slight throb at the back of her mind.

"Jellal…" The quiet whisper reverberated on the walls of the cell and visibly startled him. His face snapped up to look her straight in the eye.

"Erza…" His voice was low and raspy; he obviously hadn't been able to make good use of it in a while. She hesitated for a moment then re-equipped so that her armor was no longer present. He was vulnerable and she didn't want to make this any more difficult by barricading herself from him. Now that she got a clear look at his face she could see that he looked weary, it was a look she had already seen on his face before when they were children, therefore it was somewhat relieving when, just like when they were children, he managed a small hint of a smile for her sake. It was familiar just like his hair color or his strange tattoo. He opened his mouth to say something else but decided to change his mind and closed it again and no matter how much she longed to just break the silence she found that there was no easy way to tell him her news.

"I'm glad I could see you again. I missed you." She had zoned out while thinking so it took a while for the words to sink in. She found that once she managed to fully process them it was hard to keep her emotions in check.

"Me too." She couldn't quite manage to keep her voice from straining in the end. She walked towards him and slid down so that she was leaning against the wall beside him. The uncomfortable silence swept over them once again and tears came to her eyes as she once again tried to think of a way to remove the awkwardness from the room.

"I've remembered things…" now she had to clench her teeth to keep a sob from wracking through her whole body. She was losing control and it was terrifying. How did he do it? Why was she always so exposed and vulnerable when in his presence? She glanced at his face, his smile had turned bitter, and she knew that what he had remembered weren't good things.

"I can't believe- How could I-" he stopped and took a few calming breaths as he got his thoughts sorted out. "I'm sorry." He murmured it quietly but it still managed to once again echo around them. As he spoke his smile had disappeared completely to be replaced by a frown. She allowed the echo to die down before answering; it allowed her to get control of herself again.

"I know." That wasn't right! It was too cold and unforgiving. She had to… had to make him understand. It wasn't forgotten, of course not, but it was behind them, they could work through it. But she couldn't find words to fully express her feelings.

"I understand." She looked him in the eye. It was the best she could think of. It would have to do, at least for now, but he also had to understand. Slowly his face seemed to relax and his jaw lost most of its tenseness, but he didn't smile.

"Why did you come?" He wasn't aggressive nor was there an accusatory tone in his voice but he was strangely calm as he leant his head back against the wall and looked at the ceiling, almost as if they were commenting on the weather. The tears surged forwards again and this time she couldn't stop them, it was all she could do just to keep the sobs back. He noticed her sudden stiffness and turned to look at her and she threw caution out the window as she wrapped her arm around him in a one armed embrace and buried her face in his shoulder. He was surprised, but a part of him remembered several situations similar to this where he had comforted her when they were children and the basics of it were still present.

He wrapped his own arms around her and let her take her time calming down. As he held her he realized that things became more familiar as time went by: the feel of her hair tickling his chin or the way the little shudders swept through her body as she forced the tears back. Even the feel of the cold skin of her bare arms against his own much warmer palms was familiar in a way.

Eventually he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer, he had to know.

"They've decided to execute me haven't they?" She froze. He stayed still as he waited for her to either confirm or deny it. Eventually she pulled away from him with a furious glare on her face.

"How…" Her voice was quiet and deadly. "How can you say that so damn casually?" She grabbed on to his shoulders and locked him in place; their faces were so close that he could see every individual eyelash as he was forced to look her straight in the eye.

He couldn't help the slight quirk of his lips that made her glare harden; her indignation at him on his behalf was strangely amusing.

"It's been about a year since I got here. I've had time to think about it and come to terms with it." He stretched his hand out towards her and picked a lock of her hair between his fingers. "So it's true." He sighed and let go, watching as it settled and draped along her cheek.

"I don't know yet." She mumbled looking away from him. She brushed the stray lock of hair from her face and was startled when she felt the soft touch of her own skin instead of the cold metal she was used to. She had forgotten that she wasn't wearing her armor.

"What do you mean?" He spoke calmly and it once again felt completely out of place considering the nature of what they were discussing but she was too worn out to scold him about it again.

"There are about twenty people from different guilds arguing your case in the courtroom right now." All the people who had helped destroy Nirvana where there as well as master Makarov and a few other Fairy Tail mages.

"Natsu…"

"Yeah, he's the one who stirred them all up." She gave a little half smile and shrugged. Even Jellal knew of Natsu's pushy attitude. However the smile was only fleeting and soon disappeared when she remembered their conversation. "You'll either be acquitted of all charges or executed, Jellal. The council hates you and it hates Fairy Tail, things aren't looking good. Natsu's getting all worked up and it's all we can do to keep him in check."

"We?"

"A thought projection of myself is in the courtroom, someone has to make sure they don't piss the council off too much." she stopped speaking for a moment and seemed to gaze at nothingness, head tilted as if she was hearing a voice that wasn't really there. "They've just retired to debate." Her face remained stony but he could tell that she was beyond worried and he once again felt an angry helplessness at being trapped in this situation. Dragging Erza into it made it even worse; it was unbearable. He knew how the council worked, he had been a member long enough to know that they cared for nothing except preserving their good name. He was a liability and he would be eradicated. However…

"I don't care what the geezers say." His voice was stronger, it carried across the room far easier than it had before.

"What!" she hissed. She couldn't understand. Was he not aware of what was at risk? His life was on the line! Did he really want to just throw it away?

"What do _you_ think of me? Of this?" He quieted down again. He kept his gaze fixed on her, coaxing an answer from her.

"If they sentence you to death you'll die no matter what! What I think doesn't matter!" she shouted.

"Like hell it doesn't!" His voice finally managed to boom through the dark room, it swept away the echoes her shouts had created and the sudden loudness wrapped itself around them, its suffocating presence only leaving them when he spoke again. "Your opinion is the _only_ one that matters..." Damn the magic council for all he cares, he'll live by her words, no one else's.

"Jellal…" He pulled her into a tight hug, much like the one they had shared in the Tower of Heaven. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and bunched the material of his coat in her fists. As her thought projection saw the council men file back into the room she drew herself closer and tightened her hold on him. As the head of the council started announcing the verdict a single tear escaped her.

Thus we pray…

_AN:/ Well, I don't really have much to say about this one… I just thought that these characters and the manga/anime as a whole deserve more attention. I hope I managed to keep them somewhat in character… I'll be posting other stories for these characters as well as their edolas counterparts and any other characters that catch my attention so stay tuned!_


	2. The boy from back then

Jellal quietly followed the two guards that were leading him through the winding halls of the prison making sure to stare straight ahead and ignore the glances that were cautiously being thrown at him every few seconds. He took the heavy coat that they had given him in his cell and slipped it on, the rustling the cloth made as it settled around his shoulders startled them so badly they jumped and pointed their weapons at him menacingly. He didn't move, he just calmly raised a single teal eyebrow and watched as they hesitantly lowered their weapons and kept walking. He knew that they were frightened of him; his power, or rather, Siegrain's power as a wizard saint was well known throughout Fiore. Nevertheless he couldn't help but feel slightly insulted by their attitude, just how stupid did they think he was? Very, apparently, since attacking the guards in the middle of the labyrinth like dungeons of Era's top security prison without even the slightest clue of how to get out was quite possibly the stupidest thing a man in his position could possibly do. The dungeons were built so that even if a prisoner could somehow overpower the guards that were escorting them they'd be hard pressed to actually find their way to an exit.

The corridors seemed to drag out indefinitely and he'd completely lost track of how many turns they'd taken or how many flights of stairs they'd climbed but he did notice that security was becoming steadily slacker the farther they went: there were no more passwords being asked as they went through doorways and he began to actually catch glimpses of some rec-rooms and visiting rooms. He could sense the beginning of a headache making its presence known and he considered asking how much farther but eventually decided against it; he was pretty sure that if he spoke up suddenly now the shock might actually kill the guards. However he didn't have to wait long until they sped up their pace and he was led off into a smaller and dimmer corridor. It was much darker than the hall they had just left and the temperature itself seemed to drop as they marched quickly to the end where he was ushered through one last door.

This room was barely larger than the cell he had been kept in so his eye was quick to settle on the lone figure in the room looking out the small window. She was propped up against the window pane facing away from him and he could just make out a small part of her face that wasn't obscured by her hair. He had no idea what time it was when they had taken him from his cell but now he saw that it was near dawn, the whole room was bathed in orange-red light which quickly distinguished it from the cold cell he had been brought from; her armor was gleaming with it.

"Erza." He called out. She turned to face him and her lips curled up into a barely present smile.

"There you are." She said walking over to stand a few paces from him. "I was wondering what was taking so long." He smiled back and shrugged one of his shoulders.

"You'd be surprised how long it takes to get here from my-" he stopped for a moment, she seemed to cringe slightly and look away from him. "-from my cell." He finished. They were quiet for a moment.

"I see." She turned to him again and took a step closer. She reached a hand out and proceeded to smooth out some stray wrinkles that had formed on his shoulders. The thick fabric was slow to respond to her efforts.

"It's a good fit." She mumbled as she finished patting down the dark fabric and removed her hand. He nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for getting it for me." he answered. One of the guards coughed, she put some more distance between them and, summoning all her authority, turned to the guards.

"Right, we should get going." She said firmly. The guards nodded quickly. If he'd thought they were scared of him they were absolutely terrified of Erza, even though it seemed to be laced with varying amounts of admiration.

"Head down that hall and you'll reach a small exit that's only used by us guards." The shorter of the two directed. He was apparently reluctant to be in their presence any longer than necessary.

Jellal nodded his head in thanks and turned to leave. They had left the room and started down the hall when the silence was interrupted by a shout.

"Wait!" they both turned around to see that the other guard was the one who spoke up for the first time. Jellal found it amusing that despite speaking only one syllable his voice still somehow managed to break embarrassingly. Erza was the one who actually answered.

"Yes?" She asked calmly causing the guard to get a goofy half-grin on his face that he desperately tried to hide. He stuttered unintelligibly for a few moments before finally managing to get a reasonable sentence out.

"Can I have your autograph?"

He had always felt a strange and unjustified loathing for the city which had been the home of his thought projection for such a long time; a loathing which he supposed was partially due to his hatred towards the fools from the council. The streets of Era were surprisingly empty, Jellal noted as they trudged along. The hood of his cloak was pulled up and he made sure the right side of his face was hidden by its shadow so that his tattoo would not attract any unwanted attention to them. Apparently it had been requested by the council that he leave the prison early and if possible without being recognized and frankly he didn't mind since he much preferred going unnoticed. The sun had now risen to leave only a slight dusting of color on the few clouds that hung in the sky and the only activity he could sense in the city came from the bakeries and some of the restaurants and cafés that were getting ready to open for the early customers. Both he and Erza simultaneously sped up, hoping to leave the city's walls before the early risers spilled into the streets.

It felt good to use his muscles again after so long in that prison, it was a warm and calming feeling for him which went quite well with the heat of the sun which was foretelling that it would be a scorching day. However, it wasn't long before the strain of spending such a long time in forced lethargy began to take its toll on him but he said nothing and forced himself to accommodate Erza's steady pace. It wasn't until they'd left the city behind and walked well into the morning that he finally allowed himself to rest in the shade of a tree by a river. He slid down its trunk and stretched his legs out to let them rest. He flipped the hood of the cloak off his head and welcomed the cooling air across his forehead. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he fully relaxed. Erza stood in front of him and towered over him.

"You should have said something if you were so tired." she scolded gently as she handed him a bottle of water. He shrugged while taking it gratefully. Erza sat down across from him and opened another bottle but she didn't drink and just stared at him. He met her gaze and shrugged again.

"Don't worry about me." He said with a comforting smile. "It's been a while is all." He stretched like a cat and poured some of the water on his head. Erza huffed but smiled all the same.

"You haven't changed." She murmured. "You're still the same boy from back then."

"Am I?" he asked watching the river drag on sluggishly. He still couldn't quite get certain unpleasant memories to leave him now that he'd remembered. She took a hold of his arm and the sudden contact drove him to look at her.

"Maybe not quite the same. We've changed… you as well as me." He thought over what she said. It was true, in some ways she'd turned into a completely different person; she was no longer shy or scared to take action when it came to defending her convictions… To put it simply she had become strong. Even her body language was completely different to the girl he'd known all those years ago.

"But when I look at you I can tell that you're just as kind and that you still value justice and freedom the same as you did back then. All the things I admired about you are still there. That has to count for something, doesn't it?" She smiled when she finished speaking and for a second he caught a glimpse of her face when she was much younger. It was the same smile she had worn countless times during their days of slavery, the one she seemed to automatically use to make him feel better even when there was no possible way she could have known that he was feeling scared or angry or tired. After all, even he would fall into despair every now and then in the tower, he just never showed it for fear of scaring the others. Erza had always had a sort of sixth sense that she wasn't even aware of for those moments. Seeing that smile on her face again after so long encouraged him, he felt more hopeful than he had since he had regained his memories.

"If you say so..." He yielded to her. If she was so sure about his true self then he would just have to believe her.

They rested for a while under the shade of the tree which provided adequate shelter from the scorching midday sun. The pleasant heat that seemed to radiate towards them combined with the soothing sound of the running water from the river soon lulled Jellal into a daze. He was startled to attention when Erza stood up and glanced off into the distance, one hand on her hips and the other blocking the sun from her eyes.

"If you're ready we should get going. I told Lucy and the rest that I'd be back in two days. I'm worried that if I don't show up they might wreck half of Fiore looking for me." He stood up as well and noticed the sun had moved farther west than he had expected. He did not doubt that Erza's nakama would tear whole cities up looking for her and that no matter how much they did to get him out of jail that they did not trust him completely.

"Ok. Let's go." He brushed off his pants and they set off once again. Erza spent most of their journey telling him about the guild and its members and stories of the many fights that had gone down in it. They reached the rocky hills that overlooked Magnolia with a few hours of sunlight to spare and allowed themselves to slow their pace. The road that went down to the town was deserted and dust flew with every step they took so that both their boots and his pants were soon covered in it. The heat was beating down hard and every time he stole a glance at her Jellal couldn't help but wonder how Erza could stand it with her armor. He sighed in relief as they reached the outskirts of town and the shade the houses had to offer.

Unlike Era, Magnolia's streets were bustling with life and activity, so much so that they couldn't go more than a couple of steps without bumping into someone. Erza, who was still regaling him with tales of Fairy Tail, was constantly being interrupted by the townspeople who greeted her happily and sent a smile his way as well. His hood was on again so that only the lower half of his face could be seen but he still smiled back pleasantly and nodded in greeting at the friendly faces. By then Erza's stories had turned into a flood of advice which, if memory served him right could be summed up in a not so small list which went on for quite a while and concerned almost every single Fairy Tail member. By the time they were a few blocks from the guild there was only one thing left to say.

"And remember, what happens in the second floor stays in the second floor." He had to admit, that last one made him burn with curiosity but when asked she refused to mention the cause for that rule.

The guild, which could be seen from far away above the rooftops of the other houses, towered over the rest of the buildings near it, to Jellal it was terrifyingly imposing and as he watched it steadily grow nearer he felt a strong urge to just turn around and avoid any confrontation. The closer they got the stronger the urge grew. Erza seemed to sense his discomfort and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"They all helped get you out of that jail cell." She told him quietly. By then he could see the guild's sign painted on the large wooden doors.

"Yes, but they didn't do it for me." He muttered. "Whatever it is they did, they did it for you." He once again thanked whatever entity he could think of that she had managed to find herself such an amazing guild.

"Then they'll make you feel at ease for me as well." She smiled reassuringly then stepped forward and pushed the doors open wide. He briefly wondered if the overly dramatic creaking of the doors was just in his imagination before he was dragged by Erza into the guild.

The silence that greeted them in the beer hall they had walked into was not his imagination, that much he was certain of. Most of room's occupants were frozen in various poses, some of them so eccentric that he honestly couldn't work out how they could defy physics in such a way as to not topple over. Most of the guild member's eyes flitted quickly between him and Erza. After a pregnant pause he sighed and lifted his hand to pull back his hood. A nervous cough was the only difference in the hall. Each second that passed seemed to constrict his chest a bit more than the last and once again he felt that it was about to be too much.

"Welcome back." A white haired woman he recognized as Mirajane seemed to just magically pop out from behind the bar and suddenly the room seemed slightly more animated. At least he could hear people breathing again. Mirajane seemed almost blissfully unaware of the suffocating atmosphere that had flooded the guild; she just smiled and waved happily.

"Is the master here?" Erza asked, hand on her hips. Jellal stared eyebrow quirked as the two women seemed to fall into some sort of routine. They spoke casually and with what would appear to be well practiced lines.

"No, he went out for a bit. We were expecting you a bit later." Mira's quiet voice answered. She took out a rag and started wiping the counter near her, the smile never leaving her face. "You two must be tired. Can I get you anything?" She gestured for them to sit on two of the bar stools and without so much as waiting for an answer slipped under the bar and reappeared with two glasses. He hesitantly took a seat but could feels hundreds of eyes staring at the back of his head. Apparently so could Erza who had already settled down beside him. She turned around and shot a warning look at the whole room and he managed to turn around just in time to see all the other guild members' frightened faces before they hurriedly turned away.

By then Mirajane had retrieved a pitcher full of water from only god knew where and filled both glasses, then sent them their way. They each caught their glass deftly and he mumbled a thanks which seemed to make her smile widen, if that was even possible. While he drank the water he let his gaze wander along the beer hall, taking in every detail. He recognized many of the guild members easily enough; many of them were very well know as delinquents as far as the council was concerned, others were less notorious and he was surprised to realize that there were a lot more members than he had expected. The hall was actually big enough for them all to fit comfortably at their own tables and most of them were seated in small groups of two or three which he supposed were for the most part divided according to the different teams. He settled his glass down on the bar, the guild members seemed to have gotten slightly more accustomed to his presence in the short period of time and the sound of voices soon filled the room once more. It was actually quite a nice atmosphere. He slowly let his guard down and propped his chin on one of his arms and listened absently while Erza and Mira discussed a sudden uprising of dark guilds to the northwest in hushed voices. He let his guard down so much that he didn't hear the sudden opening of the guild's doors or the pounding footsteps, he barely managed to catch the shouts but he definitely felt the fist that suddenly collided with the side of his face and sent him airborne and six feet from where he had been seated. He'd know that fist anywhere.

He stood up, brushed the rubble from his clothes and hair and gingerly rubbed the spot where he had been hit while turning to face his aggressor.

"Jellal!" the fire dragon slayer roared as he stalked towards him. "Fight me!" His fists were raised and flames spread around them. Behind him the blond celestial spirit mage sighed exasperatedly while the blue and white cats floated lazily beside her head. The ice mage muttered a random insult under his breath and the young sky dragon looked worried.

"I'm not here to fight you, Natsu Dragneel." Jellal spoke calmly, watching him carefully and hoping he would simmer down. Natsu gritted his teeth.

"Fight. Me." He growled as the flames grew to envelop his whole arms.

"No."

A feral snarl left Natsu as he lunged forward. Jellal sidestepped the attack and the raging fire dragon sped past him, not without swinging his leg back in hope of landing the hit. No luck, Jellal ducked and it flew over him without touching a single hair on his head. The guild had once again fallen completely silent as they all watched the fight. Natsu spun around and sent a fireball at him but he jumped out of the way and rolled into a crouched position on the floor. Natsu prepared to throw another batch of flames at him but a shudder went through his spine and he froze. Jellal stared for a moment wondering what had gotten into him until he saw that Erza had risen from her seat and stepped between the two of them. He righted himself and watched as a silent exchange took place between the two. Natsu just glared, his eyes flitted from him then back to Erza. She wore a serious expression as Natsu repeated the motion two or three times. Eventually after what appeared to be careful consideration she nodded her head once solemnly and stepped back. She turned to him.

"Fight him." She told him quietly. His eyes widened. Natsu grinned maliciously while cracking his knuckles.

"I'm all fired up." He laughed before lunging at him once again. Jellal once again avoided all contact by jumping as far away from Natsu as he could.

"You already beat me once! Isn't that enough for you, you lunatic?" he shouted as he landed on a table in the middle of the guild. Natsu jumped so that he too was standing on a table close to the bar sending a bunch of objects to the floor and ignoring the protests of the table's occupants.

"That wasn't you. You weren't being serious." His eyes widened once again. He remembered uttering similar words to Natsu in the tower. Natsu swung his right arm two or three times as if warming it up. "I want to judge for myself what the real you is made of." He continued.

Jellal stared at him for a moment, weighing his options. He was fairly certain that one usually didn't pick fight with the members of a guild one intended to join and yet here he was, being forced to fight Natsu against his will. Fine then, if he wanted a fight he'd give him a fight.

"Alright…" he sighed. Natsu's grin widened and he lunged forward again. Jellal readied a punch he didn't expect to make contact-

"Ugh!"

-and was surprised when he felt it collide with Natsu's face hard enough to send him toppling to the floor. He had been so sure that his attack would be avoided that he didn't know how to react once Natsu laid in a heap on the floor and he just stared stupidly at him for a couple of seconds. Meanwhile, Gray managed to express what the rest of the guild members where thinking.

"Dumbass."

A slight twitch from Natsu was what finally snapped him out of his daze.

"You idiot!" he said wrapping one of his fists around Natsu's vest and lifting him clean of the floor. "How could you not dodge that? I barely even moved! I thought we were being serious!" When it became obvious that Natsu was in no condition to answer he let go and watched him crash down on the floor again. He stalked to the bar where Erza and the rest of the team had been watching the exchange and sat down while crossing his arms in a huff. Erza went to drag Natsu over so that Wendy could tend to him and he asked Mira for a drink.

"Preferably alcoholic." He muttered.

"Atta boy!" came a drunken cry from the other side of the bar where Cana sat enjoying her barrel. Jellal spared a glance that way but decided that he already had enough Fairy Tail mages to handle at the moment; he'd probably go mad if he didn't pace himself.

Mira placed a mug of beer in front of him and he sat down beside the blond, Lucy. On her other side sat Wendy and Gray had settled down at the far end, drinking iced water and wearing nothing but his boxers. Just as Lucy was informing him of that fact Erza dropped Natsu none too delicately at Wendy's feet asking her to heal him. She began to get up but Gray stopped her. He poured his glass of water on Natsu's face and got an immediate reaction as he spluttered, got up searching for the culprit and started picking a fight.

"What was that for, pervert?" He shouted butting heads with Gray who refused to back off.

"For being a moron! Got a problem with it buddy?"

"Oh, yeah? You wanna fight, ice bastard?"

"You sure you can handle it flame-brain? You just got your ass handed to you."

Natsu opened his mouth to answer but seemed to change his mind and turned his back on Gray who seemed pretty pissed off at being ignored all of a sudden.

"Jellal Fight m-"

"Forget it." Jellal cut him off taking another sip of his beer and marveling at how easy it was to slip into the madness that was Fairy Tail, while at the same time questioning his sanity. "We just fought and you didn't even dodge a single half-assed punch. Go pick a fight with someone else." He ignored Natsu's protests and was relieved when he finally went off to finish his fight with Gray. He heard the fight get steadily louder as more people began to get involved but didn't bother to turn around. He sensed an object that was speeding towards the back of his head but he just barely tilted to the side, watching as whatever the object was shattered against the wall in front of him and rained down in pieces onto Lucy and Wendy who had decided to seek shelter behind the bar.

Yes, he mused as he finally turned around to watch the chaos unfold, it was truly amazing how quickly one could assimilate the insanity.

_AN:/ There it is, Chapter 2. I wanted to get to the guild so that next chapter we can get a lot more characters in here. It did take me a while though, huh? I'd like to hear what you guys think Erza told him about Fairy Tail, just basic rules like "don't challenge Cana to a drinking contest." There could be some great ficlets that could come from those…_


	3. A parent's watchful eyes

Master Makarov stared down at the beer hall from one of the upper levels of the guild. As usual, a brawl was taking place at such a fast pace that he could only occasionally make out one of the participants for a moment before they disappeared into the fight once again. His attention however wasn't on the fight itself but further away from it, he was focusing on the man who was sitting at the bar lazily drinking his beer while watching.

Makarov had seen the exchange between Natsu and him; he had even laughed a bit until he remembered that the man he was staring at was very powerful, very dangerous. He had had many encounters with his thought projection and remembered the cocky, arrogant attitude that had always seemed to accompany him wherever he went. Strangely enough so far he hadn't seen so much as a sliver of that attitude escape him since he had entered the guild. The man held himself proudly, no doubt about it, but not in an arrogant way, or so it seemed. He watched as a chair was thrown towards Lucy and Wendy's hiding place behind the bar and was surprised to see him out of his seat in a flash and catching the chair before it could reach the two girls. He couldn't hear them talk but he could tell that they were thanking him and although he couldn't hear the man's answer the smile he gave them was pleasant enough.

"Analyzing him before your big decision, gramps?" He was startled out of his thoughts. Apparently Laxus had decided to use the stairs like a normal human being for once instead of using his lightning as transportation. He had forgotten that Laxus could be that quiet. His newly re-instated grandson moved to lean against the railing beside him. He harrumphed and turned back to the scene he had been watching.

In the short time that he had been distracted the brawl had moved even closer to where the three had stood so that both Wendy and Lucy were hiding behind the man and grabbing his cloak to use him as a human shield. He remained where he was even though he kept sending curious glances at the two girls behind him, as if they were the odd ones out in the guild for not willingly participating in all the ruckus. Just when it appeared that the three of them would be sucked into the fight, Erza who had gone off somewhere shortly before the whole fiasco started, made her appearance known and split everyone up with few words and a glare. Laxus chuckled beside him as all the participants slunked off in different directions to lick their wounds and heal their shattered pride.

"You should probably get down there, Erza's gonna be in a real bitchy mood if you keep her waiting much longer." Laxus was grinning widely as he watched her tap her fingers impatiently on the bar beside the man who was trying to pry Lucy and Wendy off of him. "She's already wound pretty tight as it is."

"Is that concern, in your voice, Laxus?" Makarov asked with a sly smile while looking up at his grandson who turned away from him with a frown.

"Tch, as if."

Despite Laxus's warning he remained where he was. The doubts that had been gnawing at the back of his mind concerning the man were still present. He and the whole guild had already defied the council and were long past the point of no return but he wanted to see if he could find some peace of mind before facing the man and letting him into the guild. It had been a long road to get him out of that prison; Natsu's stubbornness had been a key factor that had allowed them to forge on. He remembered the day the brat had crashed into his office where he _knew_ he wasn't supposed to disturb him. He had run up to the desk where he had carefully been formulating his written apologies, most of which pertained to the fire wizard in front of him and his team, and had crushed his fists into the table so hard it had left dents that he only just realized he had yet to get fixed. After calling out to people at the door the rest of his team walked in, excluding Erza. After making a bunch of hasty demands (for which he received a good punch from Lucy and Gray) Natsu calmed down enough to let them all explain everything about the man and Erza: their past, their collaboration to stop Nirvana, their feelings. Needless to say that last part fell upon Lucy and Wendy who hadn't done a particularly good job about it since they seemed to think that talking about it was some sort of betrayal towards Erza. He didn't mind though, he got the idea.

He listened to them attentively, once he'd heard enough he stopped them with a raised hand.

"This is important to you all… " He began.

"It's important to Er-!" Natsu tried to interrupt but Lucy clamped her hand tightly onto his mouth to silence him. The old man nodded in thanks, cleared his throat and continued.

"-but I have to look out for the guild. From what you tell me he lost his memories, if they were to come back and with them his evil ways, Erza as well as the rest of the guild would be in immense danger." A string of muffled protests came from Natsu but Lucy was doing a good job of silencing him. He sighed. "You all know that I am not the strongest mage out there."Another protest from Natsu. "There is always someone stronger, someone with more magical power or more pliability in using it. Erza will surpass me as will all of you. Another name comes to mind as well: Siegrain. I met him a few times during the mandatory meetings of the ten wizard saints. He was powerful and now you tell me he was a mere thought projection of this man? Siegrain's powers were frightening in their own right, Jellal's must be at least double." He trailed off for a moment in thought. Yes, it was truly terrifying what that man's magic could do if it were to turn to darkness again. Another thought struck him suddenly.

"Wendy," The girl jumped, she hadn't been expecting to be addressed by him. "You said he had been in prolonged contact with the Ethernano, is that right?" Wendy nodded nervously while playing with her dress. "He's probably even more powerful than before…" he muttered. "As much as I care for Erza's happiness… even she didn't stop the council from taking him away." Natsu had finally managed to rip himself from Lucy's grasp.

"I don't care! She was scared and she felt like it was the right thing to do but he should have stayed for her sake! I've already talked to all the others who helped with Nirvana! They're all willing to help get him out of jail!" he was bearing down on him now.

"Please, master." It was Lucy who spoke now. "We spoke to all the people who are closest to Erza and they all agree." Wendy nodded backing Lucy up.

"Pops, you can't _not_ do this! You didn't see Erza after they took him, she was heartbroken! I thought she'd break down right in front of us!" Gray too was working up a storm, so much so that his magic was reacting to his emotions building a thin fog up around him. Makarov let his gaze wander from one worked up face to the other. He sighed and gave a curt nod

"I'll think about it." Cheers instantly broke out among them. Lucy and Wendy hugged each other, Charle and Happy high fived and even Natsu and Gray allowed themselves to share a fist bump.

"Master? What's going on?" The festivities were cut short as the door was opened to reveal Erza, back from her solo mission. When she saw the rest of her teammates in the room as well she gave them a questioning look. "What are you all doing here?" They all broke out into nervous giggles and tried to slip away.

"Erza, you're back early!" Lucy smiled while backing away to the door. "We'll just let you talk to the master now, bye!" They all made a mad dash to the door but using his Titan magic he blocked off their escape with his left arm. Meanwhile he waved his right arm and smiled.

"Yo!" he greeted the redhead who was glaring suspiciously at all of them, him included. Despite all his powers that glare sent shivers down his spine. He could see Lucy and Wendy trembling and a drop of sweat run down the side of Gray's face.

"Will one of you tell me what's going on!" she demanded. No one dared look at her; they all sent nervous glances at one another. He was sure they'd make another bid for freedom soon. Natsu and Happy were eyeing the window longingly.

"She'll find out eventually." He told them. "Better to just get it over with now." He cackled evilly in some dark recess of his mind. That was just plain cruel, but he honestly didn't want to have to break the news to Erza by himself. He had no idea how she would react! It was Erza they were talking about, so she probably wouldn't cry… but she might go on a rampage! He was too old to be there by himself trying to calm her down while she possibly destroyed half the guild. It would cost a fortune! He should have waited until Mira or Gildarts were around…

Suddenly realizing that he was probably exaggerating, he shook himself from his thoughts and turned his attention back to his children. In the small span of time while he had been panicking Erza had managed to line them all up against the wall and was quietly staring them down while they quivered in their boots.

"You have exactly three seconds to tell me whatever it is you're all hiding from me." She said, her voice deceptively calm.

"One…"

"Two…"

"We're trying to get Jellal out of prison!" Wendy was the first to break. Silly kid, she was probably safest from Erza's wrath.

"… What?" Makarov stared in amazement. Erza was… speechless? Impossible.

"That's right, Erza! We're gonna get him out so that you don't have to be sad anymore!" Natsu shouted with a chuckle looking oh so proud of himself. Erza's gaze kept jumping from one friend to the other while trying to think of something to say. Aside from Natsu all the others looked nervous hoping that when she finally managed to say something they wouldn't be on the receiving end.

"Are you all insane?" she said without the anger Makarov had been expecting in her voice. She just sounded tired. "You heard the man from the council. They'll never let him out. He'll be there till his dying day…"

"And you're okay with that?" Natsu asked frowning at her.

"Of course I'm not okay with that!" she snapped; however all the heat left her voice almost as soon as it came. "I- I just don't know what to do. He did so many bad things." She said nothing for a moment then spoke up again, her voice was much softer. "Jellal taught me all about justice. It was a code by which he lived by. If you do something wrong, you deal with the consequences and it applies to everyone. After I left the tower, I dedicated myself to justice and that's why I didn't do anything when they took him. Jellal knows this; it was our last unspoken agreement." The conversation was unmistakably painful for her.

"What kind of justice would it be if the one time a person I cared for had to face the consequences of his actions I bent the rules for his sake?" Her hands had formed fists and were shaking; he guessed it was one of the ways she had learned to keep back her tears. All of her friends were each preparing a different argument, but he decided it was time for the master to step in.

"All of you, out. Erza and I will discuss this now." Again, Natsu and his protests. "You've said all you had to say." They all reluctantly walked out. Lucy was the last to go and sent a worried look at Erza before shutting the door behind her. The silence that invaded the room dragged on for some time. Erza's head was bowed down and she seemed to be miles away, her thoughts were probably in the prison cell with the man they had been talking about.

"Erza." He called out to her. She snapped out of it suddenly.

"I'm sorry, Master. It's just-"

"What was he like?" he asked, he didn't need to hear her apologies for spacing off.

"Master?"

"The boy you knew, what was he like?" he asked again. She seemed genuinely surprised at the question and frowned as she once again seemed to zone out, summoning all the memories of the boy who he could tell was so dear to her.

"Jellal was…" even as she spoke he could tell that she was only half there. "He was kind and brave and believed in justice and freedom. Grandpa Rob was his hero." A sad smile appeared on her face at the mention of the old man. "We'd always say that when we'd grow up we'd become members of Fairy Tail and make him proud… Jellal taught me about courage and about protecting your friends. He saw the good in everybody except the people who kept us in the tower… He protected all of us whenever he could and there was no one else I looked up to more than him." She looked like she had tons of other things to say but she decided to suppress them. He had to admit, as far as her description was concerned he was an admirable character, worthy of the fondness that had made its way into her voice without her noticing.

"Lucy said that you thought that Jellal sacrificed himself to save you from the liquefied Lacrima after Etherion fired. Is that true?" he asked.

"I'm certain of it." she mumbled. He frowned, he didn't like seeing Erza like this; it was unlike everything he knew about her. She looked so young…

"Erza, you know Fairy Tail's laws better than anyone. It's amazing the amount of greatness people can accomplish when given a second chance. If you believe in him then I'll trust your judgment and I'll do what I can to free him. But it's up to you to decide." She looked at him pleadingly, she looked so lost. "You don't have to answer now, Erza." She stared at him for a moment, she opened her mouth as if to say something then closed it and swept out of his study. He didn't see her again until two days later when she stormed up to him in the middle of the guild and told him that she'd trust in her childhood friend.

And now here they were four months later, the man was fresh out of prison and waiting for his final decision. Mira seemed to have taken a liking to him which the Master decided to take as a good sign. Mira was admittedly a very good judge of character. He remembered when Erza had showed up in the guild and Mirajane had instantly recognized in her a worthy rival when everyone else saw nothing more than a lonely albeit powerful little girl.

"So that's the guy, huh?" Laxus was staring at him with interest, which was strange since Laxus rarely took interest in new members deeming them beneath him. "He looks exactly like Mystogan. No wonder Erza was frozen stiff the first time she saw him without his mask." He said with a chuckle. The man was listening as Wendy began to shyly talk to him while pointing out to different parts of the guild. Erza was sitting on Wendy's other side eating some of her favorite cake and occasionally nodding or adding something to what she was saying. "I think I'm going to go see for myself." He grinned. Before he could be stopped a brilliant flash of light enveloped him forcing the older man to cover his eyes. A loud clap of thunder roared downstairs signaling that Laxus was already beside the man. Makarov followed but kept his distance.

Laxus was leaning against the counter, his grin still in place as he watched the newcomer who was coolly looking back at him. Wendy quickly scampered out of what was surely going to be another confrontation and Erza remained where she was, her frown indicating that she was not at all pleased with where this was going.

"So you're the guy everyone's been going on for so long about." Laxus said while signaling to Mira for a beer which was instantly sent his way. He took a hearty gulp of the cool liquid and turned his attention once again to the person beside him.

"Laxus Dreyar." The man's voice held no threat. It was merely an indication that he recognized him.

"Glad to see I'm recognized." Laxus smirked while holding out his hand. Green eyes narrowed in distrust, maybe Laxus's reputation preceded him, maybe it was just the faintly threatening air that always seemed to accompany him but the man seemed weary of the offered hand. It didn't stop him from extending his own with a challenging expression on his face. Immediately sparks enveloped both their hands; if it weren't for a further narrowing of his eyes you'd think that the man hadn't even noticed. After ten seconds Laxus pulled back. Smoke rose from each of their right hands, the newcomer clenched his fist and smirked.

"That all?" he asked. Laxus's grin widened.

"Not quite." As soon as the word left his lips a bolt of lightning struck Jellal in the chest, sending him flying for the second time that day. Erza stood up angrily.

"That's enough Laxus!" A hand on her shoulder silenced her. Jellal had already gotten up and was standing behind her. He looked slightly disheveled but didn't seem to be in any pain.

"I must say, if that's anything to go by then it's a good thing you've got Erza here, or else the power of this guild's S-class mages might be put to doubt." His smirk was still in place and the insult was not lost on Laxus whose features twisted in anger.

"Why you little brat!" he hissed.

"Settle down, children." Makarov decided to make his presence known. They both turned to him looking displeased but whereas Laxus scowled at being interrupted Jellal looked much more intimidated.

"Makarov." He was still standing behind Erza with his palm on her shoulder. Neither one of them seemed to know what to do. Laxus had backed off a bit and was watching things with mild interest. The master said nothing for a moment, he looked the man over once more, taking note of the small contact he kept with the woman in front of him. Once he was satisfied with his inspection he spoke.

"I've heard many things about you, Jellal, and to be quite honest not all of them are good." The boy cringed at those words and as soon as he heard them the hand that was still resting on Erza's shoulder was quickly removed as if he'd been burned. "This is your second chance at life, try and make the best of it and don't screw it up." He let the underlying threat sink in then carried on. "There's a place for you here in Fairy Tail should you choose to accept it." He let the hardness leave his voice as he finished.

"Thank you." The boy mumbled the words but he could still hear them. Makarov turned to look at Erza and saw that a little half smile had made its way to her face. Seeing his child's smile he let the sternness in his own face and voice disappear as he continued.

"However, there is one condition for you to join Fairy Tail." Doubt crossed Jellal's face at this announcement. Laxus perked up upon hearing this as did most of the guild hall. "Fill these out for me." He handed Jellal a large stack of papers which he took curiously into his hands. "You can stay in Mystogan's old rooms." He said as he started walking away. He heard the boy shuffle the papers in his hands and the hearty laugh that left him as soon as he saw what was written on them. Erza who had been peering at the papers over his shoulder scoffed.

In Jellal's hands were more than a dozen written apologies to the magic council on behalf of Fairy Tail.

_AN:/ Well, that's the third chapter. I wanted to have it from a somewhat different point of view so say hi to Makarov, everyone. Oh, and I had to get Laxus in there somewhere… oh the possibilities! Now If you'll allow my little rant… Where the HELL is Mishima going with this damn ARC! It better be good, for his sake. JK but seriously, I'm not too convinced with this latest arc._

_Sorry for the rant, let me know what you guys think._


	4. It's Official

A brand new day had begun for the bustling city of Magnolia and Lucy had decided to make the most of it by sleeping in late and lounging about her house most of the morning while intermittently jotting down some ideas for her novel on loose sheets of paper she had lying around. It was almost noon when she finally decided to head out and catch a bite to eat at the guild with the rest of her team. She summoned Plue to keep her company during the walk and after making sure nothing was out of place in her apartment she skipped gleefully outside. She locked the door and followed through with the almost mechanical gesture of checking that her celestial keys were firmly attached to the belt at her hips. Feeling the reassuring presence there she grinned down at Plue and proceeded towards the guild.

She walked at her leisure, letting Plue dance ahead. When she was only a couple of blocks from the guild she turned a corner and saw Gajeel and Pantherlily walking ahead of her. She quickly caught up to them and greeted them.

"How was the mission?" She asked, hoping to strike up a conversation that would last until they reached the guild and went their separate ways. Gajeel's signature grin made its way onto his face.

The black exceed smiled up at her. "I would have preferred the mission to be a bit closer to Magnolia." Pantherlily answered. "But it was fine."

"Yeah, we got to beat up a whole guild." Gajeel laughed and cracked his knuckles. He seemed to be relishing the memory of inflicting pain and Lucy felt a twinge of pity for whoever had been on the receiving end of a beating from Gajeel.

"Well, uh, I'm glad you had fun." She said awkwardly. They didn't say another word until they reached the guild. There Lucy waved goodbye to the duo and went to the bar to chat with Mira whereas Gajeel decided to go see if he could find some scraps of metal for a late breakfast.

Mira smiled at her as she sat down in her usual seat. "You came in late today." She commented as she dried some glasses. Lucy shrugged.

"Today was such a nice day and I was exhausted after that last mission with Natsu and Happy so I decided to sleep in." She explained.

"That's nice." Mira answered. The conversation was interrupted as Alzack and Bisca showed up and asked Mira to sign them up for a mission. She nodded and waved them off. "So how'd it go?" She asked as she brought out the mission log book and wrote in the new information.

"I got paid and we didn't have to pay for any property damages." She muttered bitterly, her good mood sinking as she recalled the last mission she had been on.

"Oh, so it was good." Lucy sighed. She sprawled out on the bar and Mira continued with her work while humming a song. To pass the time Lucy began to scan the guild to see who was missing.

"Where are Natsu and Gray?" She asked.

"They're in the pool. I think the heat makes it hard for them to fight." Mira mused as she started wiping the bar around Lucy.

"What about Lisanna?" She asked as she got up so that Mira could finish her job. Lisanna usually spent her time at the bar chatting with her older sister so her absence was very noticeable.

"She's on a mission with Juvia. They should both be back tomorrow." She put the rag away under the counter and Lucy settled back onto the bar. "And if you're wondering about Erza and Wendy, they went out to run errands."

Lucy sighed again. Usually she would go talk to Levi for a while but Gajeel was tormenting her at the moment and she decided it was best not to butt in. She could barely make out some tufts of Levi's characteristic blue hair behind Gajeel's towering dark frame. On the table beside them Happy was chewing on a fish while talking to Lily as Charle sat listening quietly to the conversation. Mira slipped into the back of the bar and came back rolling a barrel in front of her. She set it down in a corner of the bar near Cana who was indulging, as usual, in her favorite pastime.

"What exactly did Erza and Wendy go to buy?" she asked.

"I think they went to get a cake. You know how Erza likes to welcome new members of the guild with cake." Mira shrugged.

"Hey, now that I think about it, I haven't seen Jellal since the day he was released two days ago." Lucy mused out loud. "I wonder what happened to him."

"If he decided to run away, I'll kill him!" Natsu shouted in her ear. She shrieked and scooted away from him. Both Natsu and Gray had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They were both in swimming trunks and were sopping wet.

"Boys, please don't get the floor wet, I have to clean that up later." Mira scolded. Neither one of them seemed to hear her. Steam began to rise from Natsu.

"If he dares to run away…" Natsu growled, letting the sentence hang.

"We'll hunt him down!" Gray finished. They both smiled evilly. Lucy marveled at their temporary ability to get along.

She turned her back to the boys and it wasn't long before she heard two metallic clangs followed by whimpers of pain. She whipped around and saw Erza standing over Natsu and Gray who had sprawled out on the floor and were clutching their heads. Wendy was close behind her and they were each carrying bags from Erza's favorite bakery.

"Cut it out, both of you." Erza muttered as the settled her bags on the bar and placed her hand on her hip menacingly. "He didn't run away. I checked in on him yesterday, he's resting. Now will you please stop acting like idiots?"

"But, Erza!" Natsu whined as he lifted himself off the floor.

"No buts!" Erza ordered. Natsu squeaked and kneeled in front of her obediently. "You were the first one who thought of getting him out of prison, Natsu. You can't spend all your time doubting him now that he's finally out."

"It's not like we did it for him." He muttered. Erza's face softened.

"I know." She said ruffling his hair. Natsu pouted and looked away. She stepped away from him and helped Wendy with the bags that the younger girl was trying to manage. Erza handed them over to Mira who took them to the back of the bar and put them in the fridge then left to see how everyone was doing at the back of the guild.

"So, what happened to Jellal?" Lucy finally dared ask.

"He's exhausted. Spending so much time in that tiny cell took its toll on him. Don't forget that he had to deal with Natsu using him as a punching bag after a day's worth of walking." She sent Natsu a pointed look and his expression was as close to sheepish as was possible for him.

"Laxus beat him up too…" he trailed of, realizing that the argument was too weak and childish to work.

"I wouldn't say either one of you beat him up. To be honest, you were kind of pathetic, flame-brain." Lucy had been expecting the peace with which the conversation had been developing to end any moment when either Natsu or Gray slipped back into the constant bickering. Wendy watched the fight from a safe distance trying to make sure they didn't break anything. Erza took one deep calming breath and turned her back to them and Lucy decided to ignore them as well, preferring to question her friend a bit further.

"Is he going to show up today?" She asked cautiously. She hated to doubt him but she couldn't help but find his absence suspicious.

"He said he'd come in today." Erza answered. "Although I wouldn't blame him for wanting to stay home, he looked pretty bad yesterday." She shrugged.

"Gee, thanks." Lucy jumped again. Why was everyone sneaking up on her today? Erza was a bit more composed but she had straightened in her seat and a sharp intake of breath betrayed her surprise. Jellal chuckled.

"Don't tell me I managed to startle Titania Erza!" he teased. Erza's eyes narrowed and if her expression had been on anyone else's face Lucy wouldn't have hesitated to call it a pout.

"Shut up."

Jellal kept smiling but he didn't say anything else. Lucy gazed at him and noted that Erza was right, he didn't look well. She couldn't pinpoint what was off about his appearance. In the end the only conclusion she could reach was that he was indeed exhausted. It was mostly in the way that his eyelids were hooded as if he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Feeling better?" Erza asked once her composure was once again in check. Jellal's tired smile remained and he shrugged dismissively. Erza frowned.

"Jellal…" she trailed off warningly. Any member of the guild would have yielded to her when faced with that tone of voice but Jellal recklessly dismissed that too.

"I'll be fine." He assured. Erza remained skeptical but decided to follow her own advice and leave him be.

"Maybe Wendy should check on you, just to be sure." Lucy said. "Right, Wendy?" Lucy and Erza turned to where they had last seen Wendy but she was nowhere to be found.

"She was following Natsu and Gray towards the back of the guild when I came in." Jellal mentioned. All three of them listened closely and they could eventually make out a distant chanting of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Erza rolled her eyes but once again decided to ignore it; Jellal winced when a loud crash was heard. It sounded like whatever had just been destroyed was made of wood and Lucy was grateful since that meant that any of the guild's wood mages would easily be able to repair it without any of them having to pay. Mirajane came back from the back shaking her head and carrying a tray filled with dirty dishes and glasses.

"Master won't be pleased." She sighed. "Oh, hello Jellal." She said noticing the new arrival at her bar.

"Hello, Mirajane." He greeted. Mira busied herself with the dirty dishes, glasses and mugs that she had brought. She went about cleaning them all up and putting them in the right place. Eventually she had only one glass left which she continued cleaning thoroughly. Lucy was pretty sure she had already cleaned it enough but she didn't say anything. She knew that Mira liked to be doing something with her hands when she talked.

"So, can I get you guys anything?" she asked. "It's almost lunchtime so maybe something to eat?" she suggested.

"Is there any coffee?" Jellal asked looking hopefully around in search of the magical drink.

"I'll have to brew some more." She signaled towards a table in the far corner where Laxus, Fried and Bixlow were all sitting clutching their foreheads. "Laxus and the Raijinshuu went out on the town last night and they're all suffering from some pretty bad hangovers." Mira was already measuring the ground coffee and preparing the machine while gesturing for him to sit down while he waited. No one who had ever stopped at Fairy Tail's bar could ever claim that Mira wasn't highly efficient when it came to her job.

Jellal plopped down on the seat leaning his head on his arms that were crossed on the counter Lucy and Erza barely managed to make out the muffled praise of the beverage that escaped him. Eventually Mira placed a mug of steaming hot coffee in front of him and he immediately perked up. The mug was followed by sugar, he immediately scooped a large portion in and took a big gulp of the liquid.

"I can't believe I lived so long without this stuff." He muttered before taking another hearty drink.

"You sound like Cana talking about her 'boyfriend'." Erza muttered signaling said woman who had taken a break from her drink and was smiling while reading Romeo's fortune with her cards.

"You're one to talk!" Lucy laughed remembering Erza's extreme fondness of cake. There was also her love of soufflé to be considered. Erza didn't say anything about Lucy's remark and Jellal was happy to keep sipping from his mug.

When he finished Lucy was glad to see that he looked revitalized although not back to 100%. He yawned and rolled his shoulders once.

"So what have you guys been up to for the last couple of days?" he asked once again sending Lucy on another pity parade.

"I went on a mission with Natsu." She muttered. He looked pityingly at her but didn't press the subject.

"What about you solo mission from last night, Erza?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Stopping a few stray robbers in a nearby city. Simple, really." She commented. "But I needed some money for today and it was pretty well paid."

"What did you need the money for?" Lucy wondered but her question was left unanswered since Mira chose that precise moment to pop back into the conversation.

"You know, Jellal, if you're going to join the guild you have to get your mark!" she said with the subdued enthusiasm that was so very Mirajane. Her right hand already held the stamp that was used to apply the mark. "So where do you want it?" she asked holding the magical stamp up and pointing it intermittently towards different parts of his body. Jellal looked slightly hesitant and glanced towards Erza which Lucy couldn't really blame him for since the way Mira was brandishing the stamp was slightly menacing. Lucy tried to remember if, back when she had gotten her stamp, Mira had been quite so imposing. Whatever reassurance Jellal had sought in Erza he seemed to find since he wordlessly took off the coat that he was wearing revealing a sleeveless purple shirt underneath and presented his left arm.

"I thought as much." Mira hummed before applying the stamp and holding it down for a few seconds. Jellal's eyes never left the spot where the mark was being placed.

"There you go." Mira said as she removed the stamp from his arm. "It's official." She stated. He turned his arms trying to peer at the mark from different angles. He seemed pleased with it as a small smile graced his face.

"Congratulations, Jellal." Erza smiled. "You're an official Fairy Tail member."

"Not quite yet, he isn't." The quiet remark had come from Cana who had walked over and taken a seat beside Lucy. They all frowned slightly but didn't have time to comment since just then Natsu, Gray and Wendy showed up.

"Jellal!" Wendy shouted running over to them. "You got your mark!" she smiled shyly. He smiled back and nodded. The bright red mark could easily be seen from far away.

"Alright!" Natsu whooped. "Now there's no escaping, Jellal! You're a member of Fairy Tail!" he shouted grabbing his shoulder and shaking him violently. Lucy cringed at how loud the dragon slayer was shouting and she thought she might have seen Jellal's jaw clench.

"Natsu, cut that out." He muttered but Natsu didn't even hear him.

"Now we have to celebrate!" he kept on shouting, pumping his fist in the air and grinning like mad. Yes, Lucy was certain that Jellal's jaw was clenched, as was his fist at the moment. Natsu's shouts could give even the most cheerful persons headaches on a good day, she could only imagine how Jellal, who wasn't well rested, was feeling. Glancing around she noted that the Raijinshuu and Laxus were glaring daggers at Natsu who kept on shouting and ignoring Jellal.

"Natsu…"

"This is great!"

"Natsu…"

"Now we have to-"

"Shut up!" Jellal said throwing a punch at Natsu's face sending him flying into the wall. "Listen to people when they're talking to you!" he shouted. Natsu groaned out an unintelligible response.

"I'm already starting to lose it." Jellal muttered and hissed. "My head…"

The guild was silent although some of them, especially the hung-over thunder gods, seemed somewhat thankful that someone had shut Natsu up.

"Okay, _now_ you're an official member of Fairy Tail." Cana broke the silence while cheerily walking over to clap him on the back. "Time to celebrate!" she shouted lifting her glass, which Lucy didn't recall her having mere seconds before, in the air. Shouts of approval quickly rang out across the guild.

Mira ran to get the cakes that Erza and Wendy had gone out to buy and quickly carried them over with a bunch of plates.

"Wendy and I didn't really have much information to go by but between the two of us we tried to guess what you'd like." Erza explained as Mira began cutting up the first cake expertly removing the center that had been decorated with the same mark that now adorned his arm and handing it over to him.

"The Jellal I knew loved apples so I guessed you would, too." Wendy commented as she handed him a fork. He looked at them both and then at the rest of the guild where everyone present was being handed a slice.

"You couldn't have been more right." He grinned as he took a bite. Erza and Wendy both looked pleased.

Lucy kept back for a while and smiled as slowly more and more members came over to Jellal and welcomed him to the guild. It was like the ice had finally managed to break and she could truly see him as part of the guild for the first time. Lucy knew that it was hard to get used to the dynamics of the guild at first and she had wondered if Jellal, who always had an air of refinement surrounding him would be able to fit in, but seeing him now put her at ease and she realized that there was no reason for him not to fit in.

After all, he had been Erza's nakama in the past, why should now be any different?

_AN:/ Well, Jellal is slowly being sucked into the guild… Also, I don't want to post any spoilers for the manga in case someone bites my head off so I'll just say that I LOVED chapter 263! Any thoughts?_


	5. Eradicate Wilde Hog

A week after Jellal had finally been accepted into Fairy Tail and had the guild's insignia tattooed onto his arm it was Erza's turn to go to the guild late. After months of putting it off she had finally decided that it was time to try and straighten out and organize all her weapons and armor in the five rooms she rented in Fairy Hills. So she had spent the previous afternoon sorting through, organizing, polishing, mending and keeping stock of all of her equipment. Needless to say the task kept her up well into the night and her morning had been rather sluggish. Yet here she was walking into the guild to meet up with team Natsu for a new mission. It was Natsu's turn to pick so it would be entertaining at least and would most likely include plenty of opportunities to unleash violence.

As she went towards the table that her team usually occupied she noticed suspiciously that they were all missing. Checking the clock at the bar she saw that she was right on time for their little meeting so, Suspicions rising quickly, she glanced around the room to see if she could spot them. The guild was a rambunctious as ever but she couldn't hear Natsu and Gray fighting. Hearing a tap on her shoulder (thanks to her armor she never did actually _feel _when someone was trying to get her attention) she turned around and saw Mira who jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of the master's study. She hastily nodded her thanks and went in search of her friends. She walked down the hall and saw them all leaning against the door to the master's study. Natsu had his ear pressed up against the wooden door as did Lucy, meanwhile Gray and Wendy stood farther off watching them as they eavesdropped.

Hearing a sharp intake of breath Erza looked up and immediately caught sight of Happy who was flying just on top of her head. Seeing that he was about to call out to the other she grabbed him and covered his mouth, ensuring that he was quiet. She silently inched closer towards them.

"What could they possibly be talking about?" Lucy muttered, pressing her ear closer to the door. Natsu grunted and Gray remained quiet, mostly because he had noticed Erza and was frozen in place.

"What are you doing?" she asked not even bothering with any niceties. Lucy squealed at the sudden voice and latched onto Wendy who had been standing just behind her, sending the poor girl toppling to the ground as Charle scolded them both for being so clumsy. Meanwhile Natsu had scurried away from the door as quickly as he could and had ended up with his back pressed up against the far wall.

"Well?" she asked keeping any reprimanding tone from her voice since she was hoping to get a straight answer from them quickly. She let go of Happy who immediately went flying towards Natsu in search of comfort. "What's going on?" she insisted.

"Well," Gray began scratching the back of his head. Erza noted that in the brief period since she had made her presence known he had managed to strip down to his boxers again, but decided not to comment in case he clammed up again. "The old man called Jellal into his study looking all serious and they've been in there for about an hour."

"And you all decided to eavesdrop on their conversation because…?" she laid one hand on her waist and gave them the most disapproving look she could muster, waiting for the rest of the explanation.

"Oh, come on, Erza!" Lucy cut in. "You've got to be just as curious as we are!" she insisted. Erza couldn't really deny that she was curious about what was going on and she wondered whether it had anything to do with Jellal's health which seemed to be declining slightly since he had gotten out of prison. She wasn't too fond of the idea of listening in on other people's conversations however and therefore she kept quiet, preferring not to answer in the positive in case they took it to mean that she condoned their actions. She stood her ground, stubbornly keeping her distance from the door that seemed to be calling to them all.

"I still don't understand why we can't hear anything." Natsu muttered, his arms were crossed and he seemed to be putting a lot of effort in his thoughts. "At least Wendy and I should be able to make out what they're saying."

Suddenly the latch on the door clicked and the door began to open and all of team Natsu flung itself towards Erza clinging onto whatever they could find and using her as a barrier. Natsu and Gray had each wrapped their arms around one of her legs, Wendy was clinging to her right arm and Lucy had her arms around her neck and had climbed up her back. If Erza's armor didn't have a high collar she was fairly certain that Lucy's hold would have strangled her by then. Happy held onto the back of her head and Charle, who during the whole fiasco had managed to maintain most of her dignity, was still trying to stealthily hide herself behind her right leg and Gray's head. She heard Lucy whimper behind her, probably out of fear since she was so well acquainted with the master's slightly perverted idea of punishment. She sighed and rolled her eyes. There was a limit to the stupidity she was willing to put up with before noon.

Out of the door stepped Jellal, looking slightly relaxed, as if a great weight had left him. It was rather anti-climatic in a way.

"Thank you, Makarov." He nodded as he closed the door behind him. He turned and was confronted with the wide eyed group that was still clinging to her. Green eyes stared coolly at the group as they all stared back with varying degrees of relief.

"We were just…" Lucy's cover up died on her tongue. He crossed his arms and kept staring, the relief they had felt moments before soon disappeared once again.

"You know," he began. "the spell I put on that door would have ensured that even the most sensitive ears such as, I don't know, _a dragon slayer's_ wouldn't be able to hear what was going on inside. That doesn't mean that I couldn't hear everything that went on out here." He gave them all a knowing look and they slowly began to extract themselves from the jumbled mess they had created. Jellal looked rather amused by it all whereas Erza was simply displeased with having to deal with all this after a restless night.

"Sorry about that, Jellal." Lucy laughed nervously as Wendy nodded silently in agreement, Natsu, Gray and Happy had already headed to their table and were waiting for the rest of the team to be present so that Natsu could announce their mission. He shrugged but a slight smile was present on his face. Lucy, Wendy and Charle joined the boys at the table. Erza watched them go. She waited until they had sat down and ordered their lunch from Mira before speaking. Jellal stood beside her the whole time waiting.

"This has something to do with how you've been feeling lately, doesn't it?" she asked turning towards him and staring him down. He nodded while absently clutching his chest. She took note of the small movement. "And does this mean you'll feel better now?" She pressed on.

"Yes." He answered. She nodded understandingly but did not continue the discussion. She beckoned him to follow her and they joined the rest of team Natsu. After ordering lunch themselves Natsu began to reveal his choice for a mission.

"Eradicate Wilde Hog?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah!" Natsu grinned widely. "A tiny guild like that, it'll be a piece of cake!"

"Is this legal?" Gray asked looking doubtfully at the poster that was sprawled out on the middle of the table.

"Gray's right." Erza admitted. "I like to think that the master would have realized if the request was illegal but even the best of us can slip occasionally."

Natsu blinked. "Huh? What are you guys talking about?" he asked. He was immediately given a reprimanding look and a punch to the face.

"Idiot!" Erza groaned pulling her fist back as Gray snickered at Natsu's misfortune. "You have to know this stuff, Natsu! Guilds aren't supposed to fight each other. Having too much magical power mixed up in any given spot is never stable."

"Remember what happened in the tower." A far more serious voice interrupted. Jellal had joined the conversation. There was a moment of silence in which everyone at the table squirmed slightly at the dark memories.

"Exactly." Erza conceded. "It's-

"Dangerous." Once again the deeper, darker voice. Erza felt Lucy's worried gaze flicker between her and Jellal. She remained completely still, however, and said nothing. She knew that if she moved to touch him he'd shy away from the contact and if she spoke now he'd block himself from them. She frankly just wanted to get their past out in the open, even if it took baby steps such as this. Eventually she felt him sigh and relax beside her.

"Fairy Tail's little spat with Phantom Lord is also a good example." He continued, apparently managing to pull his head from those dark thoughts. "The council was at an uproar after that, specially trained rune knights had to be dispatched to Magnolia to round up the stray magical energy lingering that would have caused countless anomalies in day to day life. I spent over a week without sleep sorting it all out and trying to convince those old geezers to leave Fairy Tail alone." He muttered.

"So this _is_ illegal." Gray muttered. "Leave it to Natsu to pick the one job on the whole board that could probably get us arrested." He muttered.

"What was that?" Natsu roared. They were both getting ready to go at each other again but just as they were about to collide on the table Jellal pushed them both back into their seats as he took the flyer from the table and began skimming over it. The other two kept arguing but remained seated. Erza tried to read the flyer over Jellal's shoulder but by the time she had finished the first couple of sentences he had put it back down. She had just discovered that Jellal was a lightning fast reader. Figures.

"Actually, now that I've actually read it, this seems perfectly legal." He said, bringing the argument to a screeching stop.

"What?"

"It makes sense, too." He muttered. "Since requests that reach legal guilds are discussed during the regular meetings of the guild masters it would take a lot of people being very careless for a job like this to make it to the request board unless it had a loophole." He explained. The paper was immediately ripped from his hands by Lucy as she and Erza scanned the document trying to see what he was talking about. Natsu laughed triumphantly.

"See, Ice Idiot?" he taunted. "I picked the one job with the loophole." He cackled theatrically to prove his point, flames rising from his grinning mouth. They simmered down as a puzzled look slowly covered his face. "What's the loophole?" he asked.

"Right here." Jellal tapped the flyer highlighting one sentence in particular. "It says here that Wilde Hog is primarily a thieving guild whose members use magic. Under these circumstances they become free game since they're not technically a magical guild at all."

"Meaning we can go after them?" Lucy asked for clarification as Mira set their orders down on the table.

"Ah." Jellal nodded as he picked up his chopsticks.

"Then let's go after lunch!" Natsu exclaimed, shoveling his spicy food greedily into his mouth.

They all started digging into their food but during the whole meal Erza was painfully aware of how absent Jellal was. Ever since he had joined the guild he had been fun loving and open with everyone and had always participated willingly in the conversations that surrounded him even if it was simply by listening. Now it was as if he was far away. Now it was as if he was trying to remember something and it worried her.

Lunch was quickly over and everyone pushed their dishes back and sighed happily. Only Jellal still had food on his plate and he would occasionally prod it with his chopstick.

"Well," Lucy sighed. "We should probably get going if we want to make it to the town where this guild is stationed today." All the other occupants of the table agreed and got up, they bid farewell to Jellal and left.

Erza sent him one last worried glance and turned to leave. He caught her wrist as she passed behind him and she looked down at him; he was still sitting down and he had the job poster crumpled in his left hand.

"I really wish you guys wouldn't take this mission." He whispered. "I feel like there's something I should be able to remember about all this. I don't like it." he muttered dropping the flyer and rubbing his temple with his free hand, never letting go of her wrist.

"We'll be careful. Don't worry about it." She reassured gently. He closed his eyes, aggravated, but let go of her wrist. She squeezed his shoulder gently, the only form of contact they were both comfortable with at the moment, and walked out the door.

Jellal sat there for a while longer contemplating the eerie feeling running through him but eventually managed to shrug it off. Two hours later he had moved up to the bar and had gotten sucked into a conversation with Macao and Wakaba while he had been trying to savor his afternoon coffee when suddenly Makarov came running out of his study looking panicked while holding a letter from Master Bob of Blue Pegasus.

"Who took the Wilde Hog job?" he shouted hysterically.

Jellal choked on his coffee.

_AN:/ I'm not even going to begin with "sorrys". You guys know I love you, right? Anyway, I know it's been a while but I do have some good new... I've written up to chapter nine of Full Circle and it will be updating a bit more in the coming months. After November I will have officially finished High School and I will be free. FREE! So you'll probably see more updates from me then._


	6. (I won't say) I told you so

He couldn't believe it. In all honesty Jellal couldn't even begin to comprehend how Erza and the others could attract trouble so goddamn much! Was it really so difficult to just take low profile jobs and finish them without any strange fiascos going on? He growled as he sped through the air hoping that he'd be able to catch up to them but no matter how quickly his heavenly body magic could move him dread still pooled in his stomach. Checking the hastily drawn map in his hand he adjusted his course slightly. The city they had been headed for was some two and a half hours from Magnolia by train, it would take him much less to get there with the speed his magic granted him. He groaned as he recalled the orders issued to him by Makarov.

"_Find them and stop them. If you don't make it in time you are to join them and finish the job in that area. Inform us however you can and we'll take care of the rest."_

"_Of course."_

"_Are you sure you're up for this, Jellal? That spell from today takes time to get used to. We could send Jet."_

"_No, Jet's speed comes from running. If there were anything blocking his way he'd have no way of reaching them. Besides, if it comes down to the worst those guys will need backup in the fights and I'm more proficient in battle than Jet."_

"_If you're certain…"_

He could see the city now and racking his brain tried to see if he could somehow remember how he knew of this guild. His memory had been jogged and he could somewhat recall more details about the organization they had gone after but he had yet to recall how exactly he knew about them. Thankfully he had at least been able to recall the guild's location, so he didn't have to waste any time searching for it.

Heading towards the small mountain nearest to the city he searched for the cavernous entrance to the underground guild. He spotted it immediately and dived down coming to a soundless stop at the entrance. He strained his ears to see if he could pick up any sounds that would reveal the presence of his guild mates. The sound of various fights echoed out towards him from the caves but he couldn't clearly make out what exactly was the cause of them. Deciding to throw caution to the wind he entered the cave and sped down the dark passages trying to let his ears guide him.

The smell of ash lingered in some of the rooms, in some of the others the temperature dropped noticeably; others had deep gashes in the walls and tables cut in half. All in all, the whole guild had been totally trashed and familiar magical signatures lingered in the air. He sighed in frustration and hurriedly searched for at least one of them. Turning a corner he entered into a much larger, darker room.

He had gotten almost to the middle of the room when a powerful kick was sent to his chest launching him against the wall behind him. He felt the stone give way against his back. His eyes closed momentarily but he regained his wits in time to see the glint of metal being lifted by his attacker and speeding towards him. He immediately shot his hand out and grabbed the wrist holding on to the weapon but the thrust was too powerful for him to be able to stop it completely on such short notice. He managed to deflect it and the gleaming sword bit into the wall beside his head

"Stop!" he shouted. His voice thundered through the room. A moment of hesitation ensued before the sword glowed and disappeared in a flash of magical energy.

"Jellal?" Erza gaped in disbelief for a moment. He braced himself against the wall and tried to right himself, she took his arm and pulled so that he was standing firmly once again. "Did something happen at the guild?" she asked as worry seeped into her voice. He took a deep breath and massaged the spot where her kick had knocked the wind out of him.

"We need to find the others and get out of here." He muttered. She looked as if she was about to question him further but decided to let it go; she simply nodded and pointed towards the direction where the rest had headed.

They took the path that she had indicated and their footsteps resounded heavily against the floor. They soon reached another room much like the one where Jellal had almost been killed and inside it the rest of the team was busy wreaking havoc. Bodies were sprawled everywhere, in puddles of what had probably been ice, in charred craters on the floor, in multi-coloured heaps of hair with many bald thieves running their hands across their smooth skulls and lamenting their loss. He saw Wendy at the far end of the room preparing a breath attack and Natsu was currently shaking a man while complaining about being called a monster. A quick one over of the room was enough for him to realize that the building's foundations wouldn't be able to hold the whole structure up for much longer after being out through the abuse it had had to endure. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and whistled sharply, they all spun around to look at the new arrival.

In hindsight, their startled faces as they recognised him were actually quite amusing but he unfortunately had no time to actually stop and appreciate them and instead went straight to business.

"Have you guys finished here?" he asked urgently. They all nodded. Natsu was still clinging onto a Wilde hog member he had been shaking violently moments before. "We have to go." He ordered urgently. They all stayed silent and Gray scoffed haughtily.

"Yeah, right." He walked over to him and crossed his arms. "I ain't taking orders from you." He drawled. Jellal growled deep in his throat. Seriously, out of all the times for Gray to get an attitude he chose now? Couldn't he just get it out of his system back at the guild like Natsu? Normally Jellal had always been one for diplomacy- underhanded sometimes, perhaps- but still diplomacy. However he deemed that now was not the time to calmly discuss matters and decided to take the second, more direct, approach.

"Did I not make myself clear?" He roared. "Everyone out! Now!" Their attitude changed completely. "And I better not see any of you destroying any other parts of the building!" They were suddenly putty in his hands that he could direct with just a point from his finger.

"Yes sir!" They all sped out of the room with no further signs of resistance. He sighed as he too ran out the door after them; handling them was extremely exhausting. He now realized that Erza hadn't been joking when she said that they were a handful. She was apparently aware of his thoughts since she had a resigned I-told-you-so look on her face.

"Why are we running?" The question came from a spot above his left shoulder and he finally noticed that Happy was flying just out of his reach in fear of angering him with his question.

"Because, once again, you've all gone too far and this place could crumble down on us any minute now." He muttered. They all ran even faster upon hearing that and ended up braced against a wall. They had taken a wrong turn in the maze like building and were now far from any exit. The building was already beginning to rumble.

"Well, now what?" Natsu asked sounding oddly clueless about the situation.

"Break through!" Jellal seethed. Natsu seemed completely surprised at the suggestion.

"But I thought you said no more breaking things in here" he argued.

"That was before!"

"I don't get it!" Natsu whined. "Break or don't break? Make up your mind, Jellal!" A hand shot out and wrapped around Natsu's scarf.

"Break through that wall right now or I swear I'll do it using your thick head as a battering ram!" He let him go and pushed him towards the wall. Natsu muttered and complained under his breath all the while but he immediately swung a flame covered fist. The resulting hole in the wall was large enough for them all to get through. They all poked their heads out and saw that it was a dark, starry night and the moon had yet to rise. They were looking down at the steep, dusty incline on the side of the mountain and could hear the unseen rocks Natsu had just broken through tumbling down the side of the mountain.

"Th-that looks kinda scary..." Lucy whimpered. Jellal had to admit he didn't look forward to going down that, although truth be told the only reason he was still there with them was out of camaraderie since his heavenly body magic would just as easily let him fly down. The ground shook again, they all steadied themselves as best they could. Jellal took a firm hold of Wendy who had knocked into him.

"Charle, take Wendy. The rest of us will meet you down there." He muttered. Charle was all too happy to comply.

"Happy, maybe you should take Lucy since she's such a Klutz, ya know?" Natsu told Happy while Lucy sent them a gratefull look. "I'll meet you down there. 'kay, pal?" Happy swooped Lucy up and dove out the window as the ground continued shaking.

"Will you guys hurry up?" Erza shouted over the loud rumbling noise the guild was making. "We have to jump now!" They all scrambled out of the opening in the wall and jumped. They landed on the ground and the amount of dust covering it was enough for them to slide down without too much trouble, big clouds of dust trailed after them as they quickly descended the steep mountainside.

As they glided down they heard the rumbling become increasingly menacing. Soon it was joined with the sound of cracking. Jellal turned around and saw that the building they had just left had finally given way under all the pressure and its weakened structure. Large boulders started crashing down after them. They dodged them all as best they could but eventually one especially large one made it's way to Natsu who was too preoccupied with the sick feeling in his stomach to pay attention to much else. Summoning his magic he appeared behind Natsu and with a well placed kick reduced the boulder to a pile of rubble.

Eventually all four of them reached the base of the mountain, they were all sweaty and dusty and in Natsu's case slightly sick, but they were alright.

"Hey, Natsu. You do know that wasn't transportation, right?" Jellal asked slightly puzzled as he watched the dragon slayer gasp for breath while trying not to be sick.

"Just leave him." Gray and Erza answered dismissively. They all heard footsteps coming towards them from the forest behind Jellal. Lucy and Wendy soon broke through the last line of trees with Happy and Charle hovering close behind them.

"Are you guys okay?" Lucy shouted as they trudged through the tough underbrush. Jellal shrugged and gestured towards Natsu who had managed to somewhat right himself. Both girls looked sympathetic. He groaned once and finally seemed to get over it.

"I'm okay." He said although it seemed that he was trying to reassure himself more than the rest of them. Jellal wasn't really convinced and apparently neither was Gray, who snorted but thankfully didn't comment. Taking one last shaky gulp of air he seemed to acquire newfound energy and was immediately pointing an accusatory finger at Jellal.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he shouted so that it was suddenly very difficult for Jellal to believe that he had recently been suffering from a strong case of motion sickness. He ploughed on with his accusations. "We could have been killed, ya know!" A bolt of irritation ran through Jellal at that.

"Maybe if you didn't destroy every single thing that stands in your way all the time you wouldn't have that kind of problem." He muttered quietly so that Natsu wouldn't hear, it wouldn't be able to find purchase in Natsu's exceedingly thick head anyways. "Besides, I'm here on Makarov's orders."

"Master?"

"What's going on, Jellal?" Erza had apparently had enough and was no longer willing to beat around the bush.

"It's this guild. I _told_ you I had a bad feeling about it. I _knew_ there was something wrong about it!" Erza's expression darkened, he knew that what he had said earlier that day in the guild had left her on edge, he guessed that it had probably stayed at the back of her head during most of the mission and he hoped that she had at least been careful like she had promised she would.

"Well what is it?" Lucy asked, her voice slightly higher than usual. Jellal took a deep breath before answering.

"This guild that you have now completely and utterly destroyed, is actually just a small fragment of a much larger thieving guild with branches all over the country. I was sent by Makarov to try and stop you from going through with your attack on it since now the guild will most likely organize a counter-attack, with Fairy Tail as its sole target."

"Heh, let them. We've had worse." Natsu boasted.

"Idiot! We're highly outnumbered!" Jellal growled.

"How much?" Erza asked gravely.

"Makarov said five to one, but from what I've managed to recall while I was chasing after you guys I think ten to one is much more likely."

"But we have the advantage of having magic, don't we?" Lucy asked having collected herself and now trying to analyse the situation calmly.

"I told you earlier, it's a thieving guild that makes use of magic. It's only because of technicalities that it's not considered a magical guild. We should assume that they have just as many mages as us, if not more."

"So now what?"

"Well, since I didn't manage to make it here in time we have to contact the guild immediately. I'll send a message to Makarov now to let him know."

"But how do you plan on sending that message fast enough?" Wendy asked. Jellal grinned.

"Ah, well, you see…" he began as the air around him shimmered and distorted and his image suddenly seemed to be mirrored beside him and his voice could suddenly be heard overlapping over itself. "Thought projections are so very convenient at times like these." Siegrain stood beside Jellal now, wearing his customary white robes and matching trousers he stood cockily with one hand on his waist and smirking at the group in front of him before fading into nothingness. Jellal closed his eyes as he listened in on his thought projection's conversation

"_So it was too late, huh? Well, it was a very slim hope to begin with"_

"_I'm truly sorry, Makarov."_

"_It can't be helped, we'll have to go through with this then. You have the map I gave you?"_

"_Yes, in fact, I've added some locations that I seem to have recalled myself. Any dealings I may have had with this guild seem to have been in this area though; I can't really remember any other locations more to the north…_

"_Don't worry about that for now. You kids take care of your area as thoroughly as you can, we'll take care of things here."_

"_Very well."_

He hummed out a sigh as Siegrain re-appeared and merged with him once again.

"Makarov's orders are to eliminate what's left of the guild here. He'll send others to take care of them in the rest of the kingdom."

"What about the council?"

"We'll just have to hope for the best…" he whispered. No one said anything. They knew that the situation was especially hard for him since he was in shallow water when it came to the council. However, Jellal quickly cleared his throat and brought them all out of any morose thoughts.

They all agreed to set camp in a clearing that Lucy and Wendy had spotted earlier while looking for them. They managed to organize the camp with minimal fuss and soon they were all settled around a campfire, courtesy of a fully recovered Natsu and eating some food from the tins that Erza had thankfully brought along in her luggage which they had been able to locate easily enough. No one really said anything which suited Jellal just fine, he leaned against a large gray boulder that served to block the wind from the fire and tried once again to recall more information about this guild.

"Hey, Jellal," he opened his eyes and turned to Natsu who's mouth was stuffed with food.

"Hm?" he asked

"You gonna finish that?" he asked pointing towards the can of unfinished food that lay beside him on the grass.

"Go ahead." He muttered tossing it to him. In doing so he caught a glimpse of Erza across the flames. She was staring into the fire absently but she seemed to sense his gaze and looked up to meet his eyes. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly; he took that to mean they needed to talk.

"Wow, it's colder than I thought it would be considering how warm it was today." Lucy mentioned trying to lift the conversation a bit.

"I'll go get some more firewood." Jellal said quietly. He got up and headed towards the edge of the clearing. Erza's equally quiet offer to accompany was met with a nod of approval and they both left the camp together ignoring the large pile of perfectly acceptable firewood that had been stacked up on the other side of the boulder he had been leaning on.


	7. Chapter 7

In the night air the sound of their footsteps on the dry grass of the wood that surrounded their campsite was strangely muted, the sound rang out for a moment and faded so abruptly that the silence between one step and the next was almost like a physical blow. They walked for some time until they finally came across an old tree that had long since given up the ghost, turning it into one giant pile of firewood. A few strong kicks to one of its branches showed that it was still strong and gave a large amount of resistance. Without saying a word Erza summoned a sturdy axe. It landed beside him and he took a hold of its handle and quietly thanked her before hacking away at the tree for a while. At one point he paused to take his coat off, pausing for only an instant to savor the cool breeze on his skin before resuming his work. The exertion was calming and he slowly began to lose the tenseness in his body. Erza stood calmly to the side and simply let him take his time and he was immensely grateful for her patience. He knew that their talk in the guild earlier that day and the few words he had said since he had found them in the dark guild had left her on edge and she was fighting with herself to make sure she didn't pressure him. He knew that it wasn't easy for her since she was used to getting any answers she desired instantly even if it was necessary to use force to achieve it. Still there she was, waiting for him to finish cutting down a tree in the middle of the night without a sound.

The sound of the axe hitting the wood was also muted, much like their footsteps had been before, but it was louder and it still managed to fill the space around them. It was constant and for the longest time it was in synch with his own heartbeat. The rhythm slowed and he sat on the fallen tree trunk. Seeing that he had finished Erza banished the axe that had still been clutched in his hand. It disappeared in a myriad of light and left a pleasant, tingling warmth in the palm of his hand. It was so very Erza that he couldn't help but smile. He felt a similar warmth to his left as she sat down beside him.

"Well?" she asked. The smile that her magic's warmth had evoked didn't falter and she unconsciously smiled back faintly. "What's been bothering you, Jellal?" she questioned. He took a deep breath and wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow. A shiver ran down his body and he pulled on the coat he had discarded.

"I knew about this guild." he began.

"I know, you told me back at the guild that you felt something was wrong about it." he looked up; he could catch glimpses of the moon through the treetops.

"I won't say I told you so." he teased. She gave him a dry look but the little grin that escaped him forced her to smile again.

"That's not all that's bothering you though, is it?" she asked. His smile faded.

"If I know this guild then it's from back when I was your enemy." Erza's face hardened.

"That's in the past, though." She said. "You are our ally now, whatever the reason you knew this guild it doesn't matter anymore."

"You don't understand, Erza. A past I can't fully remember is coming back to haunt me. Not only that, it's also threatening Fairy Tail." he continued while trying to keep his voice down. "Erza, I'm scared." He whispered.

As soon as the words left his mouth they both tensed. The memory of their last conversation before he had been taken away by the council was still fresh in their memories and it was still able to hurt them both. Erza remembered what she had been about to say when the startled shouts of her comrades had broken into their peaceful conversation. For a moment they stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

Jellal replayed that conversation in his mind again as they kept quiet. He knew that the promise that she had made back then, to help him face things head on, was one she had intended to keep. One she still intended to keep, especially since they were allies once again. With this knowledge in mind that he dared speak up and bring that conversation out in the open once again.

"You're here for me, right?" he asked softly.

"You didn't forget." she seemed relieved. She had obviously feared that his memory, unreliable as it was, would have overlooked that conversation. "Of course I'm here for you."

He smiled. That was more than he could ask of her. He got up and dusted his pants off then went and grabbed as much firewood as he could carry, Erza took care of the rest, and they both set off back to the campsite. Upon reaching the clearing they had been camping in they found that the golden ring of light that the fire had been emitting had greatly diminished. Now only a few embers glowed in the charred remains of the fire. On the far side of the campfire they could see both Lucy and Wendy who had occupied the space between Natsu and a half-naked Gray. It seemed that that had been the warmest spot for them to sleep. It was endearing, in a way. It reminded him of his childhood back in the tower. The biting cold and damp, the only way to fight it was often to snuggle up with your cell mates.

"Well, I see they're comfortable." he muttered. Dropping the branches down beside the makeshift fireplace and setting to work on a new fire.

"They're all idiots." Erza mumbled. She was smiling though.

"You still love them." he answered absently while organizing the logs.

"Hmm." she hummed in agreement. He stood back and sent a blast of flame from the palm of his hand and instantly the fire took. The clearing was illuminated once again. He thought he heard a contented sigh from one of the girls and smiled.

He and Erza lay down on the opposite side of the fire away from the rest of their teammates. They watched them for a while in silence. Occasionally a slurred invocation of a dragon slayer technique or a very sloppy imitation of a punch would escape Natsu or Lucy would twitch and roll over in her sleep and a slight twitch of Erza's lips told him that she found it all highly entertaining in a way. However they all eventually settled into a deeper sleep once again and their attention was once again drawn to each other. Jellal rolled onto his stomach and leaned on his elbows.

"Tomorrow we have to take care of as much of this dark guild as possible." He whispered into the night. Erza nodded and imitated his position. He carried on.

"These are all the divisions of this guild that are in our designated region." he said pulling out the hastily drawn map he had been given back at Fairy Tail. "We are closest to this one," he signaled a dot just north of their current location. "It's one of their biggest bases so it's best to go after it first with our magic power fully restored."

"Sounds good." she commented.

"The problem is, I _know_ that the guild's main headquarters is somewhere around here but I can't remember _where_." He glared at the map as if hoping that by his willpower alone a new location would appear somewhere on its surface.

"You can't force yourself too much when it comes to this, Jellal." she consoled. "The more you push, the more it will push back. If you can't remember it yourself, we can just force it out of one of their members tomorrow." A snort of laughter escaped him. Of course Erza's solution to the problem would be to force the cooperation of one of the dark guild members, typical. However he still wasn't convinced. He was certain there was more to this guild than they could currently see. He was also absolutely certain that it was closely linked to his, to their past.

"I wish I could at least remember what my ties were with this guild." he muttered.

"Hey," she called out. He looked at her. "No matter what your past ties to this guild are, it doesn't matter. You've cast them away, right?" Her face was a mask of conviction. "We'll take care of this to protect Fairy Tail from any possible threats because that's where your bonds are now, and you've made them consciously." He could only admire how passionately she said all this. It was hard for him not to be convinced. "Don't let your past dictate your present, Jellal." He thought her words over carefully. She lay back in her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

"I guess you're right" he said quietly. He saw her smile, but she didn't even open her eyes. After a few minutes she broke the silence once more.

"Of course I'm right." she muttered, leaving no room for argument.

_AN:/ Yeah... I couldn't come up with a title... Anyway, I must say that I feel there's something missing from this chapter (if someone says anything along the lines of "romance" or "a kiss" I'm sending Erza and Jellal after them, and not in a good way _:3_ ) but I can't seem to figure it out. Next chapter Jellal finally begins to get some of his answers so you better keep your eyes out for that. Til next time!_


End file.
